Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid
by immysaurus
Summary: Madame Tussauds is opening a new Hobbit-themed display. Elsa Travis is the artist working on the Kili replica. What she didn't bank on was for her waxen masterpiece to come to life and turn out to be the mischievous young dwarf himself, stranded from Middle Earth. Will Kili steal Elsa's heart along with her sanity? Kili/OC
1. Chapter 1

_**Summary: **__Madame Tussauds is opening a new Hobbit-themed display. Elsa Travis is the artist working on the Kili replica. What she didn't bank on was for her waxen masterpiece to come to life and turn out to be the mischievous young dwarf himself, stranded from Middle Earth. Will Kili steal Elsa's heart along with her sanity?  
__**Pairing:**__ Kili/OC  
__**Rating: **__T (at least for now. This might change for future chapters)  
__**Disclaimer: **__I don't own anything to do with the world of the Hobbit *wails* What I wouldn't give to go and live as a hobbit in the Shire, though. I don't own Kili either *wails harder* Nor do I own Madame Tussauds. Oh and by the way, I have never visited Madame Tussauds personally so those parts are purely from imagination. Call it a bit of artistic license! _

_ Hope you enjoy, darlings! :)_

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**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter One**

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Elsa Travis let out a yawn, her breath fogging up the already filthy window as her bus crawled through the busy, sprawling streets of London.

It was a clear, frosty evening in the month of October. Despite the cold and crispness of the air, it was a fine evening, to be sure. The moon was waning, but the sliver of it that remained was beautifully bright. However, today just had not been Elsa's day at all.

When she had awoken earlier that day, it was to find her boiler had broken down, meaning there was no hot water in her flat and had had to make do with a very cold and spidery shower. Her car, which was on its last legs anyway, had also finally decided to give up the will to live – hence why she was taking the bus to work. This now meant she'd have to either fork out for yet more repairs or have to purchase another car, which she could really do without.

The young woman shivered, hugging her leather jacket tighter around herself. To cap it all off, the heaters in the bus did not appear to be working; the swaying, shuddering interior was just as bitterly cold as it was outside. Letting out yet another jaw-popping yawn, Elsa pulled her iPod out from her pocket, stuck in the ear pieces and pressed _'shuffle'. _Immediately, the first track to play was _Blunt the Knives... _

_That's it... _she thought, shaking her head a little. _I'm officially obsessed. Ever since I've been working on this project, everything seems to come back to that film... _

As the bus continued on its route, pausing every now and then to let other faceless people get on and off, for the first time that day, Elsa could not suppress an excited grin at the thought of her latest venture.

The bus gave a sudden lurch, jolting her back to her senses to realise where she was. Marylebone Road. This was her stop.

Quickly pressing the button which let out a _ding_, Elsa rose from her seat as the vehicle slowed to a halt. The doors clattered open, and a small troop of teenage lads climbed onto the bus, hoods pulled up over their baseball caps to obscure their faces, heads bowed as they conversed with one another. They rowdily greeted their friends, who were already on the bus, bringing the stink of tobacco in with them and as Elsa managed to squeeze past them before being stampeded upon, she wrinkled her nose slightly.

As soon as she stepped off the bus, the bitter wind whipped strands of choppy blonde hair around her face and stung at her eyes. Blinking the pain away furiously, Elsa emitted a sigh, her breath mushrooming out and fading into the chilly evening air as she began to trudge her solitary way past the planetarium towards the employer's entrance of the world-famous tourist attraction, Madame Tussauds.

"Evenin', Ms Travis," she was greeted with."Workin' on your dwarf tonight?"

"Hey, Pete... Maybe later if I get time," Elsa answered, smiling up at the plump, red-faced security guard as he turned to punch in the access code. "It's time for Diana's seasonal change, David Beckham keeps losing eyelashes, and both Johnny Depp and Taylor Lautner need their weekly touch up. Women just can't keep their hands off them...they're not going have any lips or arse left at this rate."

"It's not just the women, ya know, darlin'...ya should see some of the CCTV footage I got..." Chuckling at her surprised yet amused expression, Pete shrugged and said, "No accountin' for taste, I guess...I'd much rather lock lips with Marilyn Monroe than, say, Russell Brand. But hey, whatever tickles your chickens, I s'pose..."

He let out a hearty chuckle, his black uniform noticeably straining at his rotund belly, as he pulled open the heavy door for her. "After you, milady," he intoned gallantly as he did every night.

Elsa stepped gratefully inside, relieved to have escaped the cruel icy temperature of the outside world, pushing her windswept bangs out of her eyes.

"Thanks, Pete. See you in the morning. And I promise that I'll keep it down tonight," she added, flashing the older man an impish grin, who favoured her with a mock stern glare in return.

"See that ya do," he said. "I already get people tellin' me this place is haunted without your so-called music soundin' like a cat bein' strangled on the premises," he called after her as she walked down the corridor.

"It's called opera, Pete!" she retorted with exasperated amusement, continuing on down the hallway to her studio, her boots squeaking slightly on the polished floor.

Elsa swiped the lock on the studio door, clicked on the lights, removed her jacket but kept on her scarf to help stave off the chilliness in the room and deposited both her jacket and bag on a hook on the wall before walking over to the table which held her favourite project to date.

The head and upper shoulders of a man sat on the tabletop alongside a tray of neatly arranged tools, brushes, paints and pieces of hair. Tacked to the wall above the desk, were photos of Aidan Turner's character in all his glory, and several sheets filled with detailed measurements and the like. Memories of the crappy day she'd had fading away instantly at the sight of him, a proud smile worked its way onto Elsa's face as she gazed upon her waxen masterpiece...her baby.

He looked just like his movie counterpart. Alarmingly so, if she did say so herself, even though he wasn't yet completed. Elsa was ready to bet – if her perusing on the internet was anything to go by – that he was going to be another of the exhibits on display where people would not be able to resist 'copping a feel'.

Since the enormously great success of _The Hobbit _movies_, _Madame Tussauds was soon to be opening a brand new section, displaying all the famous Tolkien characters from the franchise. Much to her delight and tremendous surprise, Elsa had been the one allocated to work on the Kili figure. She was the youngest sculptor working for the famed museum, so she was extremely excited to have the opportunity to be a part of a huge project such as this and to be able to prove that just because she was the youngest, it did not mean she was incompetent in any way and was prepared to pull out all the stops on this task.

She had remembered reading _The Hobbit _as a child, but Elsa wasn't what you would call a die-hard fan, more of a casual follower of the fandom. Although she had to admit when she bought _An Unexpected Journey _on DVD, she took more of a shine to the dwarves than any of the other characters, though perhaps that was because one of them had now become her muse.

She patted the waxen head in a fond gesture and huffed out a disappointed sigh.

"Sorry, Kili darling..." She would often talk to the head like this, "but Princess Di and 'Golden Balls' are my main priority tonight. I'll come back to you later..."

She turned away, pulling on a work apron and fishing her glasses out of the pocket to perch on her nose, but as she did so, she thought that her overactive imagination must have been running riot, for she could have sworn she had heard a low voice whisper from behind her,

"_I look forward to it, lass..."_

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_Please leave a review if you're enjoying this so far, darlings! :) Toodles for now! xx _


	2. Chapter 2

_Thanks a lot for the reviews, favs & follows so far, lovelies! Hope you like this next chapter. So without further ado, let's jolly on with the show, shall we? :)_

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**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter Two**

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Elsa looked over at her grandmother sitting idly in her chair, her bony, aged fingers intertwined loosely in her lap. The merrily dancing amber flames in the nearby fireplace did little to grab her attention, nor did the Frank Sinatra number crooning from the radio sitting on the walnut table between them. Setting her mug of tea down on the table's surface, Elsa memorised the way her Nana, Jane Travis' grey curly hair lay just so and the ever-familiar comforting scent of lavender and talcum powder which still lingered about her person.

Elsa could feel the familiar tears well up inside her but she pushed them down as usual, distracting herself by picking up a magazine at random from the table and began to absent-mindedly flip through the glossy pages without taking any notice of their contents.

Her beloved grandmother had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease and had been slowly fading away from her for nearly two years now. The disease was now too far advanced for it to be halted in its tracks, and all that could be done for her was to ensure that she was well cared for during the remainder of her years. It broke Elsa's heart completely to see her grandmother's mental health deteriorate so quickly in what seemed like a short space of time.

The most heart-wrenching thing about the disease was that she was watching the most important person in her life slip further into oblivion every day, yet she was still there, talking to her in the same voice that had been Elsa's security blanket all of her life. Some days – like today – her grandmother was quite lucid and was her usual cheery self. Talking in unintelligible circles of pure nonsense but cheerful all the same. And yet there were some dark days when Elsa came to visit, when she did not recognise her granddaughter's face at all.

Elsa still made it one of her top priorities to go visit her Nana on a regular basis. She was the only one in her family who did.

"There's no point," Elsa's mother had said dismissively when asked why she no longer visited, "She hasn't got a clue who we are, anyway."

_But that wasn't the point,_ Elsa had felt like shouting at her. She was family. True, she couldn't exactly hold a proper in-depth conversation with her anymore but Elsa loved her Nana with all her heart and couldn't just abandon her. No one else would visit because they either lived too far away, were dead or, like her mum, just could not be bothered.

Elsa had hated the idea of having her Nana put into a home but really, there had been little choice. Not after that incident when the police had found her wandering the streets in her nightie without even the slightest clue where she was, who she was or where she lived. Elsa herself had been the one to go pick her grandmother up from the police station. It had been so incredibly awful to see her sitting in the waiting room looking so lost and bewildered, and it was this that made it really hit home for Elsa just how bad her grandmother's mental state had become.

She highly doubted that her grandma remembered what they talked about whenever she visited but Elsa still liked to share with her whatever news she had. Today, she was telling her about the Kili figure she had been working on for the past few months.

"I'm straight off to the museum after I've been here, carry on working on Kili... I wish _you_ could see him, Nana," she said, her tone laced with a mixture of pride and sadness.

Pride over her handiwork and sadness that her grandmother could not go and see it for herself. Not that she would have known what it was that she was looking at but still; once upon a time, she would have been only too happy to see her granddaughter's project.

"He's quite a sight to behold – if I do say so myself..."

"Who is, dear?" her grandma asked vaguely.

"Kili."

"Oh...I thought you might've been talking about that young man of yours."

Elsa tore her unfocused gaze away from the magazine to look up at the woman she had felt closer to than her own mother.

"What young man's that, Nana?" she asked gently.

"You know..." she trailed off, gesturing vaguely with one frail, wrinkled hand as she failed to grasp the name she was trying to remember. "What's-his-name..."

Elsa was confused herself for a moment.

"Do you mean Simon? Nana...Simon and I broke up, remember?"

Her grandmother's brow furrowed as though this was complete news to her.

"When was this, then?"

"About a year ago now," Elsa answered patiently.

But she was only greeted with a blank look from her grandma, who then shrugged and smiled.

"Oh, well, never mind..." she said breezily, "Plenty more fish in the sea, eh? You should read your horoscope," she added, nodding at the magazine in Elsa's hands. "You never know what's in store for you."

She picked up a chocolate biscuit from the plate on the table and began to nibble on it.

Deciding just to humour her Nana, Elsa flicked to the horoscopes page, even though she didn't believe anything that they said. Holding it close to her eyes because she didn't have her glasses, Elsa read aloud,

"'_Capricorn... Aspects to Saturn suggest that pushing ahead in your personal life will require lots of patience, but you'll get there. Developments at home may disappoint and so will a message – but all is not lost; there'll be a dark, handsome stranger on your horizon.' - " _Elsa let out a disbelieving snort. "That'll be the day," she said, discarding the magazine onto the chair next to her.

She couldn't help but think that the only man in her life which fitted that description was fictional and was made out of wax.

"It says so in the stars, my darling," her grandma told her, smiling in a way like she knew something the younger woman did not.

Elsa flipped her wrist over to look at her watch. "Sorry, Nana..." she said regretfully, rising from her chair, "but I've really got to make a move..."

All of a sudden, Jane's kindly wrinkled face crumpled and her grey-blue eyes, which Elsa had inherited, had begun to well up with tears as though her granddaughter had just told her that she was leaving her for good and was never coming back. The sight was enough to bring Elsa to tears herself but as usual, she blinked them away.

"Oh, please don't cry, Nana!" Elsa begged her, wrapping her arms around her small, fragile frame, "I'll be back to visit again soon, I promise," she assured her, trying her best to keep her tone light and cheery but her voice wobbled slightly. She gave her grandmother a hug and a soft kiss on her cheek. "I love you."

But Jane continued to cling to Elsa like a lifeline as though she wouldn't ever let go, and it took the young woman quite a while to manage to reluctantly prise herself out of her grip. Elsa gave her one last little wave and a smile before she walked out the door, pausing only to sign herself out and cleanse her hands with the sanitizer on the wall, her heart heavy with despair the way it always was whenever she left the care home. She always hated leaving her and she also had that nagging little fear at the back of her mind at the possibility – as morbid as it sounded - that it may be the last time she saw her darling Nana.

Only once she was back in her newly-fixed car and driving on to Madame Tussauds, did she let the tears flow freely. Why, oh why did the most _awful_ things like Alzheimer's have to happen to such good people?

* * *

Several hours later, Elsa set her sponge and palette down with an exhausted sigh, sliding down from her stool and wincing at the ache between her shoulder blades from her night's work. Stretching like a cat, she turned to face her bench to survey her work and could not help but smile at the life-like bust she had spent many an hour creating.

Kili the dwarf, brother of Fili, nephew of the great Thorin Oakenshield, and therefore third in line to the throne, could never be mistaken for anything but pure male. He already looked impressive, even if he was currently without the rest of his body. He was ruggedly handsome. Beautiful, even, Elsa thought. His chocolate-brown eyes seemed to pierce into your very soul; set off by a straight nose and chiselled features (not that you could tell under the abundant stubble). All framed by a mane of dark, shaggy hair, both of which Elsa had spent painstaking hours inserting one strand at a time. His lips were set in a firm line but if the bust could talk, she could just imagine those lips curve up into that brilliantly charming smile of his. She had insisted on accuracy down to the smallest detail. It all added up to the fact that it was an incredible likeness and was by far her best work she had ever done.

Searching the head to see if there any imperfections that needed to be fixed, she looked up at the photos of the Tolkien character on the wall in front of her for any inspirations. Stepping up on a box for added height, Elsa leaned over to un-tack the photo of Kili for closer inspection. As she did so, her chest pushed up against the waxen Kili's face.

She nearly fell off the box when seemingly out of nowhere, she heard a noise of what could only be described as a sigh of appreciation and a murmured, _"Very nice..." _

Elsa started, her head turning in all directions to seek out once again the concealed speaker. It had not been the first time during the last few weeks where she had heard that strange, disembodied voice while she was alone in the studio. There had been several occasions where various whispered comments had been made to her. Comments over what she wore, her choice of hairstyle, over her singing talent (or lack thereof) when Elsa found herself warbling along to whatever was being played on the radio at the time while she worked.

One evening, she had been listening to some opera while she worked on Kili, when she heard a low voice ask her to, "Stop that racket." So she had complied, actually going so far as purchasing the _Hobbit _soundtrack to inspire her work, not that she needed much of that. And then there was the time when she could have sworn that she heard a murmur or two that sounded like "That tickles" when she had been meticulously trimming the dwarf's dark facial hair.

By this, Elsa could only assume her pranksters had gone and installed a hidden camera somewhere. She had gone along with it, thinking somebody working at the museum was probably having a bit of harmless fun at her expense. She thought perhaps they would eventually get tired of their antics but apparently they had not.

But after her encounter at the care home, her sense of humour was very thin on the ground tonight. In no mood for this at all, she let out a heavy sigh of frustration and turned to address her unseen pranksters.

"Alright, sod this...Will you lot just pack it in? I'm fed up with your shit now! If you don't stop spying on me and making comments or noises, you're gonna find out the real meaning of artistic temperament!" she called out, her voice echoing slightly in the studio.

"Problem, Elsa?"

Elsa jumped and turned to see Bradley Mason, the lead sculptor working on _The Hobbit _exhibition who was working on both the Gandalf and Azog replicas, standing in the open doorway of her studio, favouring her with his usual smug smirk. She could not honestly say that she liked the man. He was agreeable at best and arrogantly vain at worst. He also had that sickening self-assurance that he was something of a ladies' man.

Elsa jumped down off the box and began the task of cleaning and tidying away her tools.

"Just some idiot arsing about with a microphone, Bradley," she answered coolly. "Nothing I can't cope with."

"If you're sure..." he trailed off as he sauntered over to her work table, hands shoved deep into his trouser pockets, and came to stand next to her. "Not bad...not bad at all..."

At first, she thought he was referring to her work but when Elsa peeped over her shoulder, it was to find him staring down at her. From his superior height, it afforded him a very comfortable view of her cleavage displayed by her simple v-neck shirt. Clenching her jaw, Elsa slammed her desk drawer shut with more force than was necessary and fixed Bradley with a haughty glare over the top of her glasses, the dark rims making her stare seem all the more severe. Her Nana always used to call it her 'Scarlett O'Hara glare'.

"Was there something you wanted in particular, Bradley? Only I'm rather busy at the moment..."

Leaning his tall, lithe frame casually against her work bench, Bradley peered down at her petite five foot one figure through hooded eyes.

"You know what I want, Elsie," he murmured, uttering a sigh and reaching out to run a forefinger along her bare arm. "You just haven't seen fit to give it to me yet."

The fuzz on Elsa's arm tingled unpleasantly at his touch and she was just about to open her mouth to tell him to piss off, when she heard...

"_Why don't you keep your hands to yourself_, _you arrogant fop,"_ came a low, threatening growl.

Judging by Bradley's complete lack of reaction, Elsa appeared to be the only one to have heard the sudden warning voice, so she closed her mouth and said nothing at all. She jerked her arm away from Bradley's finger, which only seemed to amuse him, smiling wolfishly at her before he continued.

"Actually, I came to check on your progress and to give you some news... Is Kili anywhere near ready to be joined onto the rest of his body yet?"

"Very nearly," she answered.

"Well, you better get that sweet arse of yours in gear. I've already finished Gandalf and Azog. And it's been decided that the opening date of the exhibit has been moved forward to Halloween Night."

Elsa gawped at him. "But I thought it wasn't being opened to the public till Christmas?"

She had thought that the whole idea was that the display's opening would coincide with the cinema release of _The Desolation of Smaug. _

"Change of plan," Bradley shrugged, pushing himself away from the table and walking back towards the door. He swivelled around on the balls of his feet and walked backwards as he continued to speak. "Oh, and by the way, you've been designated to be co-hostess for the opening gala – you'll have the pleasure of being with yours truly, of course."

He gave her a sickening grin. Elsa's eyebrow arched reflexively at his comment. In her opinion, she could hardly put the words 'Bradley' and 'pleasure' in the same sentence.

"Don't be late, Elsie..." he sing-songed at her before sauntering out the door, slamming it shut behind him.

"My name is _not _Elsie, bloody pervert," she growled and threw down the towel she had been using to dry her brushes before running her hands distractedly through her blonde tresses. "Uuuggh, he makes my skin crawl!" she muttered in disgust.

It was typical of Bradley to get his own back on her for turning him down by putting her in such an uncomfortable situation. Sighing, she turned to gaze critically at the Kili head to see if there were any last-minute alterations that had to be made. A few stray pieces of dark hair were sticking out slightly just near his left ear.

Taking up a small pair of scissors, Elsa snipped off the wayward strands but in her annoyed state, she was a little slapdash with the scissors and ended up taking a small chunk of wax out of the edge of his earlobe. She let out an irritated sigh but stared when she thought she heard a faint hiss of pain when the sharp implement caught his ear. Elsa rolled her eyes, both at her stupidity for mucking up his ear and at the noise. As she set about fixing her error, she favoured the waxen head with a sarcastic expression.

"Listen to you...a tough, brave dwarf who's fought with the likes of trolls and orcs...and you're making a fuss over a little nick on the ear..."

She shook her head and once she was satisfied his ear was mended, sat back on her stool to admire her work once more, and for some reason wasn't at all surprised to hear the voice say, _"Cheeky girl..."_ sounding amused rather than offended or annoyed.

Rubbing her eyes with the heel of her hands, Elsa mumbled, "Okay...I think I can safely say that I've gone and lost the plot. I'm having a conversation with a _wax head. _A very cute and sexy wax head but still..."

She let out another tired-sounding sigh and raised her head to look at him.

"I have to confess, though..." she added, rubbing a hand softly against the cool waxen cheek, "I can't think of any other wax heads I'd rather talk to than _you, _Kili." Rising from her seat, she pulled off her work apron. "Oh, and uh...thanks for coming to my defence earlier...even if it _was _all in my head."

She crossed the room to pick up her bag and coat and was halfway to the door, when she heard it again.

"_Anytime, lass." _

Elsa froze in her tracks and looked back over her shoulder, shook her head dazedly and clicked off the lights, grinning anyway.

" 'Night, Kili."

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_My own nan had Alzheimer's disease, so I know from personal experience how really upsetting it can be. Anyhoops...I hope you enjoyed this chapter, darlings. A review would be lovely. Toodles for now! _


	3. Chapter 3

_The first part of this chapter in italics is a dream in case anyone is confused. Let's jolly on with the show! :)_

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**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter Three**

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Oh my Lordy... If it's possible, he looks even sexier by firelight...

_That was the main thought which crossed Elsa Travis' mind as she found herself sitting with none other than Kili. And not just him, but some of the other dwarves from Thorin Oakenshield's Company as well. _

_She watched him intently as he sat sharpening one of his daggers, an expression of acute concentration on his face. As he worked, she couldn't help but be deeply fascinated by his hands. She knew dwarves were supposed to be very good with their hands. _

_She was so entranced by him that she didn't even stop to wonder how she came to be in what she recognised as Rivendell, sitting beside a blazing fire, the delicious smell of cooking sausages filling the air. All that mattered was that she was there, sitting next to this dwarf who had so often found his way into her thoughts...and, though she would never admit it to another living soul, into her fantasies. _

_The Company had shed their heavy armour, outer coats and weapons, glad to have this brief respite after their dealings with trolls and orcs. _

"_Bombur, catch!" Bofur called out, gaining the other dwarf's attention just in time before he tossed a sausage to him. _

_Bombur managed to catch it with ease but the table on which he sat gave out an ominous creak and the whole thing collapsed under his bulk. There was a burst of raucous laughter from the rest of the Company, and the subject of Elsa's ogling glanced up briefly from his handiwork to laugh along with the rest. _

_As the others continued to eat, Kili stopped what he was doing and shifted his gaze to Elsa. She averted her eyes quickly, but Kili had noticed her watching him and grinned widely at her. She flushed with embarrassment, having been caught boldly admiring him, and he chuckled at her nervous reaction. He held her gaze as he chewed on his own piece of sausage, his dark eyes glittering in the flickering orange light as he studied her. _

_Her blonde hair was partly pulled back away from her face in a French ponytail, leaving the rest to cascade softly around her shoulders. Her blue eyes were bright in the firelight, and were framed with thick, curling lashes. The thing that intrigued Kili the most, however, were the little dimples which appeared when she smiled, which was quite often. The interest in that gaze was obvious and knowing that made her flush even more. _

_Kili, never one for being particularly shy, nudged himself closer to her, taking one of her hands in his as he began to play with her fingers. Elsa couldn't help but notice how her small fingers seemed to fit perfectly in his comparatively thicker ones. _

_As yet another food fight began to erupt, he leaned towards her. _

"_Come with me," he whispered in her ear suddenly, making her jump a little at his sudden closeness. Kili chuckled again and gently entwined his fingers round hers, pulled her to her feet and began to lead her away from the rest of the group. _

"_Where are we going?" she asked eagerly, as he guided her through the corridors and out towards an area dotted with trees. Kili looked back at her. _

"_You'll see in a minute," was his only answer. _

_The two of them walked hand in hand in comfortable silence, exchanging a smirk here, a wink there, no doubt flirting a bit. Elsa was just wondering how much further they were going to walk in the dark, when the pair reached a landing stage of some kind. As Elsa's eyes became accustomed to the poor light, she could see that stretched out before them, was a large pool or lake. It was flat calm; not even a ripple marred its peaceful surface, perfectly mirroring the night sky and the orb-like moon above. Elsa could immediately feel herself be soothed by the absolute serenity of the place. _

"_Kili..." she whispered, "it's so beautiful." _

"_I had a feeling you'd like it." _

_She squeezed his hand. "I almost wish we didn't have to leave this place," she sighed. _

_Kili squeezed her hand back and quiet fell between them again. After a minute or so, he perked his head up as though an idea had suddenly sprung to mind. Dropping Elsa's hand, he walked closer to the edge of the little jetty and began to unfasten his belt. _

"_Um, w-what are you doing?" Elsa asked, her eyes widening as he proceeded to remove his breeches. _

"_Going for a swim, what does it look like? You coming in?" _

"_With you?" she asked stupidly, as he pulled his shirt over his head. _

"_No, with Bilbo Baggins," he answered sarcastically. " 'Course, with me!" Mistaking her silence, he teased, "Are you scared?" He grinned at her in an infuriating way. _

Far from it,_ she thought to herself, but Elsa didn't say this aloud; she had been rendered speechless temporarily at the sight of his bare form in the moonlight. _

"_Can't you swim?" he continued to tease, breaking into the countless different imagined scenarios running rampant in Elsa's mind right at that moment. _

"_Hope _you_ can!" she retorted jokingly, pushing him in the chest so that he fell backwards. _

_Although Kili usually had lightning-fast reflexes, the move was unexpected and he went soaring into the water with a resounding splash. When he resurfaced, wiping his eyes free of water, he mock glared at her. _

_Elsa couldn't help herself. A laugh bubbled its way up her throat and broke loose at the sight of him. Her amusement was short-lived, however, when Kili swam back towards her, giving her a calculating look, as though considering what form of retaliation was best. Elsa had no time to make her escape when he reached out and grabbed her by the arm, pulling her into the water with him. _

_When she emerged, shivering and spluttering from the impact of the cold water, she turned to find that Kili had disappeared from view. _

"_Kili?" _

_There was no answer. Elsa spun on the spot in the water, looking everywhere for that rascal of a dwarf but in the darkness, she couldn't see him nor hear him. All was quiet. Too quiet. _

"_Kili?" she called again, this time with worry in her tone. _

_There was a sudden splash and a shout of "BOO!" as Kili suddenly sprang back up right in front of her out of the water. _

_Elsa let out a shriek of surprise. "You – !" and playfully slapped at his laughing face. Kili easily captured her flailing hands and twisted her around so that her back was pressed firmly against his chest. _

_She gasped at this sudden close contact, as Kili wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, pinning her arms down so she could no longer hit him. Once they were both still, he rested his chin on her shoulder. Elsa could feel his stubble tickle through her thin, sodden shirt, and she shivered again, but this time it had nothing to do with the temperature of the water. _

"_Hello," he whispered huskily to her. Elsa closed her eyes briefly and swallowed, her mind and heartbeat racing at about a hundred miles an hour, _very _much aware of his warm muscular chest against her and his breath tickling her wet skin. _

"_You arse," she grumbled at him half-heartedly, but he only laughed. She could feel the sound of his laugh reverberate through his chest, causing more shivers to tingle pleasantly up and down her spine. _

"_I have to admit, my dear Elsa," he murmured, amusement lacing his tone as he nudged at her shoulder with his nose, "you have a unique way of getting a man's attention, but if a tumble was all you wanted, you only had to ask." _

_Elsa found herself unconsciously leaning into him. She was cold and so she relished the heat radiating from his body. Kili smiled at this as her head fell back to lean against his shoulder. It was taking all of his self-control to stop his eyes from wandering. Elsa's already sheer garment was now soaking wet and was leaving little to the imagination. Noticing her relax in his embrace, he asked, _

"_If I let you go, do you promise not to hit me?" _

_She hummed her assent. _

"_Okay, I promise," she answered. _

_Kili slowly released her arms, but was somewhat startled when she immediately turned around and brought a hand up to the back of his shaggy head to pull his mouth down to hers. Kili froze for a couple of seconds but she heard a guttural moan deep in the back of his throat as he kissed her back enthusiastically. When they eventually broke apart, he rested his forehead against hers, both of them rather breathless. _

"_Durin's beard... Well, _that _was a surprise," he smiled, his voice husky again. His dark eyes were smouldering and it was all Elsa could do to keep herself upright in the water and not let her knees buckle. _

_Elsa let out a pleasured sigh, wrapping her arms around his neck as Kili drew lazy circles on her sides with his hands. She could not help the moan which escaped her, as his nose nuzzled the side of her face, before he began to place kisses along the soft curve of her throat. She could feel her entire body thrumming with desire. When his lips found her earlobe, he gently bit at the tender flesh there. _

"_Kili..." she whispered, his name like a prayer on her lips. "Kili, please...don't stop..." A few sharp nudges and a... yipping noise? _

_What? _

Elsa found herself being harshly pulled out of a deep sleep and back into reality by the sound of a bark from her spoiled rotten Dachshund, Freddie, who was bouncing about on the bed, demanding attention as usual.

Flopping back onto the pillows and throwing her duvet back over her head, Elsa gave out a groan and cursed the day she ever bought that damned dream-interrupting pooch.

_**Three days later... **_

Elsa grunted as she struggled to wheel the awkward metal cart which bore the waxen Kili's head in its protective casket through the narrow doorway of the dressing studio. Gingerly backing the cart into the room, she looked over her left shoulder but failed to look over her right, and bumped into a large, heavy object.

Muttering some well-chosen obscenities under her breath, Elsa spun round to see what she had just run into, froze and almost gasped aloud. The large, hulking figure of Azog the Defiler, loomed over her; his eyes and pale form where he got his namesake seeming to gleam with malevolence in the brightness of the studio's lighting. He was sitting astride an equally huge, menacing and rather ugly-looking Warg.

Azog's arm was outstretched, ready for the props department to arm him with a club, and Elsa had involuntarily backed into his threatening embrace. She had felt a split-second's thrill of panic for the figure looked _so _life-like, and she thought it really did look like that he was readying himself to attack her.

She blew out her cheeks in a sigh of relief, stepping back away from him, smiling at her own foolishness. She edged around the Azog figure, making her way further into the room and called out for her friend and colleague.

"Jules? You here?"

"Sure am!" chirped a voice in reply.

Elsa looked round to see Juliet – more fondly known as Jules – come out of a side room, carrying a long leather coat and a replica bow and quiver of arrows, a smile of welcome on her face. A good head taller than Elsa, Jules was a statuesque thirty-four year-old with hair the colour of a raven's wing, and notoriously bad luck with men. But with her cheerful nature and sharp sense of humour, she was never short of a few admirers.

"Hey there, princess... I see you've finally brought Kili in for the rest of himself. I've just about got him all ready for you over there..."

She motioned with the bow, and Elsa turned to see the headless body standing at the back of the studio, dressed in the outfit she was so used to seeing in both her waking hours and her dreams.

"Let's get him together then."

They carefully unwrapped Kili's head and together lifted the wax bust onto the torso...and there he was...her very own prince...looking as if he could simply reach out and take her into his arms just like he did in her dream.

"Oooh, for a dwarf, he is one hot potato..." sighed Jules, stepping back to admire the several months' worth of her friend's hard work.

At this remark, there came the sound of a distinctly male voice letting out a little triumphant laugh. Elsa's startled eyes flew up and she looked around, but the room was empty save for herself and Jules, who rattled on, totally oblivious to anything unusual.

"Y'know," she continued, a wicked grin crossing her face, "even _I _wouldn't say no to a tumble in the sack with Kili – or _any_ of those Durin boys, to be honest."

At the mention of the word 'tumble', Elsa could feel her cheeks become very hot, and heard both Jules and the voice she alone could hear let out a guffaw of delight.

"Judging by the look on your face, you've been thinking the same thing, huh? I knew you weren't the prude you try and make yourself out to be. He's all yours, honey, Thorin's _my_ favourite. I love me some Armitage..." Jules peered closely at her friend's face, quickly taking in the purple shadows under her eyes and general appearance of fatigue. "Hey, speaking of tumbles, looks like you've been through a few yourself, lovely... Is everything alright? Is it your Nana? She's not worse, is she?"

Elsa tucked some loose strands of blonde hair behind her ear and sighed.

"Nah, she's pretty much the same. I just haven't been sleeping very well recently, is all," she explained, shrugging a little.

"_How very true, lass...nothing like having a dwarf lover in your dreams to keep you from your well-deserved rest. Although I don't remember hearing you complain about it at the time..." _

Elsa stiffened but she continued, regardless.

"And I still haven't decided on a costume for the Opening Gala tomorrow night, you know, what with it being Halloween and all..." _Not to mention I'm still hearing voices nobody else seems to hear from a character who shouldn't even exist... Noooo, why would there be anything wrong with me? _she thought. "Any ideas?" she added aloud.

"Still haven't managed to talk Bradley out of landing you as co-host, eh?" Jules asked sympathetically, raising her eyebrows. When Elsa shook her head, she said, "I thought as much, the vindictive little shit. And talk about a stuffed shirt! Now, I'm not saying he's not talented – " She nodded towards the sinister Azog figure in the corner, " – but he acts like he owns the place and everyone in it."

Jules, who had slipped the long leather coat she'd been holding onto the wax Kili's frame, was now scrutinizing it thoughtfully.

"Actually, I don't think this coat will do, after all. It doesn't look right somehow... Undress him for me so I can fetch a replacement, would you, lovely?" she asked Elsa before bustling off to the store room.

As Elsa endeavoured to reach up and unbutton the jacket, and began to slide it back off Kili's shoulders, she heard...

"_Couldn't wait to see me undressed again, eh, lass?" _

The low, cocky taunt in her ears caused her fingers to fumble, and was a little rougher than she needed to be in removing the coat.

"_Oi, steady on, there," _the voice practically purred, and Elsa's eyes flew up to his. It just _had _to be her imagination getting the better of her but she could have _sworn _that those chocolate-brown eyes had been looking down at her in amusement.

"Oh, for God's sake, pull yourself together, Elsa," she reprimanded herself in a mutter, shaking her head.

She was so distracted that she nearly missed her friend's next words as she made her return.

"I know exactly what Bradley's game is..." Jules continued. "He's hoping you're going to turn up wearing some sexy, revealing costume so he can get his kicks by gawping at your boobs. Here we are..." Jules came back into the studio, grinning triumphantly from ear to ear as she held up a more appropriate coat. "Hey, I've had an idea...after we're done dressing Kili here, come on back to the store room. I've got something in mind for you that'll take the wind right out of Bradley's sails!"


	4. Chapter 4

**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter Four**

* * *

_**Halloween night**_

Elsa did not like big crowds of people at all. Actually, that was a severe understatement. She _loathed _big crowds of people. They terrified her. And it did not help matters when said crowd mostly had their faces obscured and dressed in all manner of weird and wonderful costumes. If it weren't for the fact that she would be at risk of possibly losing her job, Elsa would have desired nothing better than to steer clear of assisting with the unveiling of the new display.

It had always been there, this irrational fear, and she wasn't sure where it had come from. All she knew that whenever she was amongst large gatherings of people, Elsa would freak out completely. She would become short of breath, experience dizzy spells and panic attacks, and just feel like she was being rapidly suffocated.

She never liked going to nightclubs. She couldn't even cope with concerts or gigs. It had provoked much teasing from others, especially during her teens, and it had made her feel quite isolated over the years as she was growing up. The only way she could deal with this phobia of large gatherings of people in one place, was to rely on her supply of Valium. Seeing as she couldn't avoid the stress of that night's event, she definitely needed it.

Reaching into her handbag, she pulled out a small opaque bottle and made a mental note that it was time for a refill, as there were only two pills left. Elsa looked at it for a moment, pursing her lips in thought. One pill may have been enough to get her through, but there was always the chance it could wear off around halfway through the evening. Two, on the other hand, would definitely loosen her up – but maybe too much so.

Deciding to throw caution to the winds, Elsa shook out the two tablets from the bottle into her palm, popped them into her mouth, followed by a swig of water. Now that that had been taken care of, she returned her attentions to her outfit, to which Jules was making some last-minute adjustments.

"Okay! You're all done!" the older woman announced happily.

Elsa turned to look at the full length mirror in the ladies' bathroom and couldn't help but laugh at her reflection. Sexy and revealing, it was definitely _not_.

"I look ridiculous!" she giggled.

"Nonsense," Jules waved a dismissive hand. "You look perfect. Eat your heart out, Sir Ian, that's all I can say!"

Sure enough, Elsa had dressed up as the great Wizard himself, Gandalf the Grey for the occasion. Her short frame was swamped by a set of long grey robes, complete with a wide-brimmed hat, a long beard which virtually covered her entire face, and a replica staff.

"Well, it's all down to you. You did a terrific job, Jules."

Smiling one last time at herself in the mirror, Elsa turned to pick up her bag, and she and Jules exited the bathroom and headed down the corridor, stopping only to drop off her belongings in her studio.

"You look fantastic, too," Elsa told her.

Jules paused to do a twirl on the spot so that her outfit billowed out around her. She was dressed like a Tolkien elf. In a long, flowing white gown, not all that dissimilar to the outfit Cate Blanchett wore in the movies, and her dark hair styled into soft waves and an intricate, silver circlet rested on her head. Elsa sometimes envied her friend's tall, slim build but she couldn't deny this elegant ensemble suited Jules perfectly.

"Bloody hell, it weighs a ton," Jules complained as they walked. "I have a whole new respect for the actors in those films; these things are _way _heavier than they look."

"At least _you're _not wearing a beard," Elsa grimaced, fighting the urge to scratch her face under the itchy costume.

"I can't wait to see the look on Bradley's face!" The elf lookalike grinned at her as they reached the exhibit hall, where a large number of people were already congregating.

"Well...I don't think you'll have a long wait 'cause he's heading this way and he doesn't look too happy..."

As she watched Bradley stalk towards her, Elsa adjusted her wide-brimmed wizard's hat, awaiting this dreaded confrontation with Valium-enhanced calmness.

"I suppose you think that's funny, don't you, Elsie?" Bradley sneered down at her when he reached her, his eyes flashing with anger, making shooing gestures at Jules, telling her to move along.

He was dressed as a pirate captain, complete with boots, dreadlocked hair and tri-corn hat. Elsa felt it would have been more apt if he'd come dressed as the devil.

"When I said to wear a costume for this party, _this – _" He gestured impatiently at her apparel,_ " - _isn't exactly what I had in mind."

"I bet it wasn't," snorted Elsa. "But you said yourself to wear something appropriate. And as you can see, I'm completely authentic," she added innocently, spreading her hands, "seeing as it's for _The Hobbit _Gala Opening." She met his gaze evenly as Bradley's face grew red with his increasing fury. "So, the only one who seems to have a problem with my outfit is you, Bradley. Oh, and uh, my name's _not_ Elsie, by the way."

Bradley gripped her arm firmly and pulled her to one side as a small group of employees dressed as typical Halloween witches walked past.

"Don't think you're getting away with this," he hissed at her, tightening his hold on her arm. "You've flouted my authority once too often and this is the last time. I'm going to have your arse for this..."

Something within Elsa snapped. She yanked her arm back out of his grip and instead of simply brushing him off, she retorted,

"You might – and I repeat – _might _find some way to get my job...but my arse is something you're _never _gonna get. And that's what you can't stand, isn't it? I've tried being nice but you just don't get the message. I. Don't. Like. You. Keep this up and I'll have you up for sexual harassment, so why don't you do us both a favour and find some other poor sod to annoy, alright?"

Bradley narrowed his eyes dangerously at her.

"You have no idea who you're dealing with, Elsie...and I don't take too kindly to threats, especially from a second-rate artist like you. You've just declared war but it'll be me who wins in the end, just you wait."

Incensed, Elsa made to hit him, but he easily caught her wrist, favouring her with yet another of his maddening smirks.

"Attempting to physically assault your superior is grounds for dismissal, Miss Travis... That's going to have to go in your personnel file, I'm afraid."

He chuckled darkly, as Elsa cursed and stalked away, heading towards the exhibit with him behind her.

* * *

"On behalf of the management and the artists of Madame Tussaud's, I'd like to welcome you all to tonight's presentation of our latest display. Many months of hard work has gone into creating what is sure to be a very popular addition to one of London's favourite attractions..."

Bradley Mason paused as the crowd before him clapped and whistled. He was in his element; the audience lapping up his words, all eyes glued upon him as they listened raptly to his speech.

"...And now, without further ado, ladies and gentlemen, with the help of my assistant and co-host for the evening, Miss Elsa Travis...it gives me great pleasure to unveil our very own_ Hobbit _extravaganza!"

With a nod to her, Bradley swept his arm out dramatically, as Elsa pulled at a tasselled cord, allowing the huge red curtain behind them to fall away. Right on cue, Howard Shore's familiar score began to play in the background. There was a loud, collective gasp of amazement from the eagerly watching throng of people, followed by another outbreak of applause and whooping.

Nearly all of the main cast of iconic characters were featured there on the large display. At the centre of the piece, stood little Bilbo Baggins; to his right, was the great wizard himself, Gandalf, in sweeping robes of grey with a wide-brimmed hat and staff almost identical to the ones which Elsa wore. Grouped around them were the dwarf characters: the mighty Thorin Oakenshield and the rest of his loyal Company; Azog the Pale Orc, surrounded by a whole menagerie of evil-looking Wargs and Goblins. In one corner, there was Radagast the Brown with his sled pulled by his Rhosgobel Rabbits. The graceful elves, Elrond, Galadriel, Thranduil, Legolas assembled in another corner, and last but not least, sitting on top of his own rock, was the skulking form of Gollum, complete with his 'precious' ring cradled possessively in his hands. Behind all of these was an impressive mural depicting the famous locations of Middle Earth, from Hobbiton, to Rivendell, to Mirkwood and the Lonely Mountain.

As Elsa backed away so that the audience could get a better view, she went to stand near Kili. Looking up at him, she could feel her heart swell with pride and...something else she couldn't quite place. She had thought he looked impressive before, but seeing him pride of place, standing next to his brother, Fili, with sword in hand, looking ready for action, he looked spectacular. It was awfully tempting to wrap her arms around his waist and to bury her face against that strong chest of his. It seemed like a better option than to face all those people at the party.

As the crowd continued to praise and admire the display, Bradley sidled over towards her. Elsa knew that whatever he was about to say, it couldn't be anything good. Sure enough, he grasped her elbow and leaned over slightly, seemingly to engage her in friendly conversation, when in actual fact, it was anything but.

"Don't think our little chat from earlier is over or forgotten about, Elsie. When the party's over, I want to see you in my office to discuss your future with this company...that is, if you have one or not."

Elsa glared at him from under her hat but said nothing. Bradley straightened up, an expression of smug satisfaction on his face. There was an almost predatory glint in his eyes as he said, "Let's go mingle with our guests, shall we?"

Elsa watched him go, dread and fear threatening to overwhelm her. She exhaled a deep, shaky breath, trying to compose herself. It was time to mix and mingle, the very thing she hated the most.

"_Are you alright?" _came that voice again that she had become so accustomed to hearing.

This time, however, there was no hint of flirty cockiness like on previous occasions. The tone sounded much more serious and filled with...concern.

Elsa glanced at the Kili figure, who, as always, remained inanimate. She shook her head at herself for being so silly and made her trembling way into the suffocating mass of people. She had managed alright so far...but midnight was a long, long way away...

* * *

_**Later on that evening... **_

Elsa swore softly as she stumbled through the heavy doors leading to the _Hobbit _display. The lights had been switched off for the night, though the spotlights over the display remained on, giving out enough light to see by. Closing the doors behind her, she leaned against them and let out a heavy sigh. She pulled off the horrible itchy beard and hat before gently laying down the replica staff. She didn't want to give Bradley another reason for sacking her, if she damaged expensive props.

After making completely sure that she was alone, Elsa pulled out a half-full bottle of whiskey from under her robe that she had pilfered from the open bar, and headed towards the peace and quiet of the exhibit. Strictly speaking, she wasn't meant to be drinking while she was working. The raw spirit burned her throat and made her cough but she needed it; this evening had been utter hell. The noise, the people, the costumes...it was bringing all her old fears back to haunt her, and even the double dosage of Valium along with several cans of beer had barely taken off the edge of her fear.

To be truthful, the party hadn't been _that_ bad to start with. She had spent the early part of the evening with Jules, graciously answering guests' questions about the museum. It was later on when the lights were lowered and the music volume ratcheted up, that she began to feel more and more stressed. The partygoers were getting rowdier and rowdier as the drink became more free-flowing. It was at one point where a fat, balding man dressed as Julius Caesar was getting _much _too close and personal for her liking, and actually made a grab for her bum, that Elsa just wanted to scream and prayed for the night to end quickly.

Taking another hearty swig from the bottle, Elsa began to wander around the display, humming the tune which seemed to be stuck in her head a lot these days...

"_Blunt the knives, bend the forks... Smash the bottles and burn the corks... Chip the glasses and crack the plaaates...That's what Bilbo Baggins hates...!" _

She tripped again, this time over an empty beer can which had been left discarded on the floor. In the silence of the almost empty room, it clattered along the floor loudly.

"Shhhh!" she hissed at it, holding a finger to her lips before halting in front of the wax figures. "Awww, you're so cute," she commented to the Bilbo figure, patting the top of his curly head in a fond gesture like he was a dog.

She continued walking along the front of the display, only a slight wobbling in her stride gave away her inebriated state, not before giving a mock salute to the waxen Thorin Oakenshield as she passed. She lingered for a moment in front of the looming Azog replica.

"I like you about as much as I like your creator, you tosspot," she said, using one of Jules' favourite choice phrases and sticking out her tongue at him.

At last, she reached the spot where her Kili stood. Sighing, she plonked herself down on the podium so she was sat by his booted feet. Looking up into the ruggedly handsome face, she thought that for some reason she could not fathom, he looked as if he were waiting for her to speak, so indeed she did.

"You know something, Kili...I wish I could be more like you sometimes. To be reckless...carefree... Just do what I want, go where I like, to hell with the consequences..."

She swallowed some more whiskey, before leaning over to rest the side of her head against his thigh.

"There are times like tonight where I just feel like I'm in a cage...and if I don't get out, I'll lose my mind – that is, if I haven't lost it already. Do you know what I mean? No, of course you don't, you're made out of _wax..._" She smiled. "Stupid, isn't it? Me talking to a wax statue... But I meant what I said before...I can't think of anyone else I'd rather talk to right now. I wish you _were _real... Okay, so you're no superhero or...or a Mr. Darcy, say, but I wish there were more men like you around. A girl could use a heroic guy like you every once in a while."

Elsa tipped the bottle up but much to her disappointment, found it to be empty. She set it carefully down on the floor in front of her and rose unsteadily to her feet.

"Ah, sod it...no one's gonna know. At least it'll be something to tell the grandkids; that I snogged one of the most handsome dwarves in all of Middle Earth."

She gave out a little drunken giggle at this newfound daring of hers as she ducked under the rope barrier and stood herself in the small space in front of him. She placed a hand on his shoulder to hold herself up and the other found its way gently to his stubble-covered cheek.

"The world would be a much nicer place with you in it, Prince Kili," she whispered. She slid her eyes closed before brushing a tender kiss on the cool, waxen lips.

What she did _not_ anticipate, however, was for those lips to suddenly reciprocate the kiss, as the figure came to life, wrapping his arms around her waist. Her brain fogged with the combination of Valium and alcohol removed any of her sense or inhibitions she might have had, especially where Kili was concerned, and she returned his ministrations with great enthusiasm. She heard a guttural moan emanate from the back of his throat, and felt a hand entangle itself in her hair, cradling the back of her head, pulling her closer to his now extremely warm and fully-breathing body.

In that instant, Elsa forgot who she was, where she was and the situation she was in, losing herself completely in that kiss. Somehow she felt safe...nothing else seemed to matter. Time and logic had no meaning at all... That is, until the rational part of her brain kicked in.

All too soon, reality had to rear its ugly head. She placed her hands on his shoulders, and wrenched her mouth away from his, her blue eyes wide in stunned amazement as she met his amused – and rather aroused - brown ones. Gasping for breath, she nearly fell off the podium in utter shock at what she saw. It was a good thing that he broke the silence spiralling around them first, for she didn't think that she was capable of speech.

With a bow, the dwarf who had invaded her dreams so many times spoke his first real words to her...

"Kili, at your service, my dear Elsa..."


	5. Chapter 5

_Thanks so much to Eugania Parvani and Jedi-Helen for your reviews! You are fabulous and I love you! I hope you enjoy this chapter :) _

* * *

**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter Five**

* * *

"No, no, no..." Elsa was murmuring when she managed to find her voice at last. She shook her head, which at that moment was throbbing like mad. "No, this can't be real... This doesn't make any sense...I've _got _to be dreaming..."

She dazedly reached out a hand to touch the lips which had just kissed her so ardently only moments ago, an expression of absolute wonder on her face.

"Either that or you're the weirdest Valium-induced hallucination I've _ever_ had..." she finished.

Kili grinned at her, helping her into a more upright position, his dark eyes gleaming in the dim beams of the spotlights above them. Taking hold of one of her hands in his, he lifted it so that it came to rest on the warmth of his chest. Through the dark blue linen shirt, Elsa could feel the steady thrum of his heartbeat, confirming that he was _very_ much alive. The look on her face was absolutely priceless and Kili couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, you're certainly not sleeping, lass," he said to her. "And since you kissed me and I kissed you back, I should think that rules out my being a figment of your vivid imagination. Whoa, steady on there," he added quickly, holding out a hand to steady her as she swayed dangerously and almost fell. "Hmm...looks like the first thing I need to do is to teach a certain young lady how to handle her drink..."

Elsa couldn't help it; an ecstatic (albeit drunk) smile spread across her face as she wrapped her arms around him and snuggled herself into his not-so-cold-anymore chest. This gave a chance for the dwarf prince to take the opportunity of looking at his surroundings for the first time.

_Where in the name in Durin am I_? he thought as he made a visual sweep of the room. He did a huge double take when he laid eyes on all the waxen figures of his comrades standing, immobile, alongside him on the display. From the distance, he could hear a faint _thump thump _of the beat of music as the party celebrating the Gala Opening continued in the neighbouring room.

"Sounds like quite a party going on..." Kili started to say. "I wouldn't say no to an ale or two myself, truth be told - " When he received no answer from the woman in his arms, he frowned and looked down. "Uh, lass? Hello...?"

A soft groan was the only reply he got before Elsa went completely limp as she passed out, and would have ended up face-down on the floor if he hadn't caught her just in the nick of time. Kili rolled his eyes skyward and shook his head as if to say, _"Mahal, why me?" _

He was just about to pick her up, when a sudden noise from the other side of the room stopped him in his tracks. The doors to the exhibit hall were swinging open, allowing golden light from the corridor beyond to shine into the hall momentarily before they slammed shut again. Kili had barely leaned Elsa carefully against the edge of his podium and returned to his original position, when Bradley Mason entered.

Just like the woman at Kili's feet, Bradley had also removed his hat and wig, his dark hair damp with sweat. Spotting Elsa's blonde hair, he made his way over towards her, knelt down, took hold of her arm and shook her roughly. A low groan was all the response he got, and Elsa's motionless form slid further down the podium, one arm knocking over the empty whiskey bottle as she did so.

Bradley let out a snort. "Drinking on the job, huh, Elsie? Well, _that's _not gonna look good on your CV, sweetheart...not good at all..."

A horrible, sickening smirk crossed his face and his eyes suddenly took on an evil glint as a plan began to form in his devious mind. Straightening up, he nudged her with his boot. Still getting no response, he glanced around to make sure nobody else was present, and picked Elsa up in his arms. He threw the unconscious girl over his shoulder, made his way through a side door into an empty office, kicked the door shut behind him and threw her unceremoniously onto a desk.

Bradley turned and removed his outer coat, sword belt and vest, casting them carelessly on the floor. Rolling up his ruffled sleeves, he turned back to Elsa on the desk, who was stirring restlessly on the hard, wooden surface. Reaching the desk, Bradley climbed astride her and laughed quietly when he noticed her wince.

"Do you know what? I'm _really _gonna enjoy this, you little bitch!" he hissed at her.

He slid a dagger out of the sheath at his side, and he sliced through the grey robes she wore, eagerly tearing them away. Elsa was wearing a simple cotton button-up shirt beneath this, which Bradley grasped at, sending little white buttons flying every which way. One of them hit Elsa in the face, which managed to rouse her enough to realise that something was _definitely_ wrong. As her eyes tried to focus in the gloomy office, she suddenly recognised who it was on top of her and uttered a cry of horror. She tried to roll him off her, but all she seemed to achieve was him laughing at her feeble attempts.

"Just lie there quietly like a good girl for me. Keep your mouth shut and you might just keep your job," Bradley growled. "You never know – you might even _enjoy _it!" he spat out, striking a vicious backhand to her face, which left her stunned and reeling. "Guess you were wrong when you said that your arse was the one thing I wasn't going to have, weren't you, Elsie?" he whispered maliciously to the poor semi-conscious woman beneath him.

He was just about to rip away the shirt when he was stopped short by a length of cold, sharp steel resting against his jugular.

"I _really _wouldn't do that if I were you," growled a cold voice.

Those were the last words Bradley Mason heard before a hard object made contact with the back of his head, sending him flying off the desk and into darkness.

* * *

Elsa's rescuer looked down at the weapon in his hand curiously for a moment. It looked _exactly_ like his but he could tell immediately that it was merely a fake. It still made a formidable weapon, however, in his capable hands. Making sure that the despicable wretch really had been knocked out cold – giving him a few hearty kicks just to be sure - Kili tossed the sword aside and ventured towards Elsa's unconscious form.

Very gently, he turned her head slightly to examine her cheek and his eyes darkened when he saw that it was already turning a deep purplish-blue colour. Kili leaned in closer to make sure that she had no other injuries, when Elsa chose that moment to come back to awareness, and lashed out in desperation, whimpering in terror.

"Hey, hey, shush... It's me, lass! Easy now," Kili soothed her, catching her flailing hands. He patiently held onto them until she calmed somewhat when she realised it was not Bradley before her. "He will _not_ be laying hands on you again, trust me..."

Elsa's frightened gaze finally came to rest upon him and her blue eyes widened in shock when she registered what she saw.

"Y-you... But...that's _impossible..._You're not – you're – "

"Real?" Kili supplied for her kindly. "Aye, I told you that earlier, my dear Elsa, but judging by the amount of alcohol you'd consumed, it seems to have had an adverse effect on your memory." At her bemused expression, he sighed. "I suppose some sort of explanation is in order, eh?"

Elsa nodded but she stopped, wincing, because it made her head hurt. If it was throbbing before, it was even worse now from where she'd hit it when Bradley had thrown her onto the desk like she nothing more than an old sack of potatoes.

Both of them paused, questions dancing in their eyes as they looked at each other.

"So...h-how _did _you get here?" Elsa asked him faintly after a while, her voice trembling a little.

Kili met her gaze, furrowing his brows a little. "I was sort of hoping you were going to tell _me _that," he confessed.

"I haven't the faintest idea," she said. Elsa pinched the bridge of her nose. She couldn't believe that she was really having this conversation with a supposedly _fictional character_. It made her head swim all the more just thinking about it. "I don't have a clue what's going on..."

"You mean – you're _not _the one who brought me here?" Kili asked her.

"No, I didn't..."

_Did I? _she thought. _Was _it possible that she was indeed the one who was responsible for bringing him to life into the 'real' world? But that was ludicrous! But then again, the whole situation was ludicrous.

Seeming to sense the inner turmoil she appeared to be in, Kili suggested, "Why don't we find some other place of safety before that scoundrel – " He gave a contemptuous nod at the lifeless Bradley in the corner, " – wakes up and creates a fuss, eh? Can you walk alright?"

Elsa rose stiffly into a sitting position, wincing again at the pain in her head and face. She felt very dizzy and nauseated but she swung her legs over the side of the desk. The room seemed to swim a little as she made to stand, but a thought had suddenly sprung to mind and she managed to give Kili a weak smile.

"I think I'll live," she told him, glad to find her voice was steadier. "I've got a flat about a couple of miles away from here. "We can um...get a taxi."

Holding onto his arm to steady herself, Elsa stood up shakily. He was just about to help her to the door, when she stopped him.

"Hang on a mo... There's something I want to do first." She turned back to the man who just assaulted her and been tormenting her for months. "I've put up with this evil bastard's harassment for a year now...time for a bit of payback..."

She used one foot to roll Bradley onto his back before applying one boot-clad heel to his genitals with all the strength she could muster. As Bradley gave out a groan, gasping for air and arching his back in agony, Kili made a mental note to never intentionally piss off an artist while they had a wicked hangover.

* * *

Leaving that pitiful excuse of a man behind, Kili and Elsa made their way back into the dark exhibit hall. She noticed him scan the area, his sharp eyes missing nothing, in case any further danger lurked in the gloom. From time to time he glanced over at Elsa and he seemed most amused by how she kept on watching him as they walked across the hall, like she could hardly believe her own senses that he was really there with her. It was as though she feared if she took her eyes off him even for a second, then he might evaporate into thin air. Before they could walk out the door, however, Elsa turned to him.

"Kili, I know this might sound like a bit of a stupid question, but...where do you think you are?"

She could see him pondering this question, one hand stroking his stubbled chin in thought.

"As to that, I have no idea," he confessed at last. "All I know is I've never seen anywhere like this in Middle Earth," he added, gazing around the hall, gesturing around. "What is this place, some sort of museum?"

Elsa took a deep breath and held both of his hands in hers. She knew that this wasn't going to be easy for him to hear.

"Okay, this is going to sound crazy..." She was momentarily distracted by the feeling of Kili circling his thumbs over the sensitive areas between her thumb and forefingers, which sent pleasant shivers coursing through her being. Kili had noticed her involuntary reaction and smiled. "But this isn't Middle Earth at all. You're in a city called London and it's the year 2013."

At her words, Kili stopped his subtle flirtations on her hands, losing himself in his own thoughts. Nothing was making any sense so far. Somehow – he didn't know how but _somehow – _he was apparently in another realm, in another era by the look of things, and yet he didn't recall how he left his own world. He recognised the young woman with the fair hair before him from the dreams he had been having; dreams of her touching his face and his hair...she talking to him and him talking back. He hadn't known who she was, or what she was or whether she was even real. But somehow he felt very drawn to her.

Was he going mad? Not a chance... Which left him with two other alternatives: either the lovely lady with the gentle hands and terrible singing voice was as mad he was or she was indeed telling the truth. Kili liked to think that he was a good judge of character and so could tell when somebody was trying to pull the wool over his eyes, so to speak. But he had also learned to trust his own instincts, and those instincts, along with the evidence of his own eyes, led him to conclude that Elsa wasn't being deceptive.

Which just left him with one small fact. She was telling the truth, which meant that life got a whole lot more interesting for this particular dwarf.

He looked at her worried, earnest face as she watched him apprehensively for his reaction. Kili was suddenly reminded of the seriousness of the situation. He barely knew this woman, except for those brief memories and these last few minutes...and yet he couldn't help but feel he was connected to her on some level. Seeing the livid bruises and the slightly glazed look that wasn't entirely due to alcohol, he was suddenly filled with the desire to run the cad through who had dared to hurt her.

He did not wish to worry her unduly so he smiled to reassure her.

"London, 2013, you say?" he said, draping an arm around her shoulders as though they were the best of pals planning a night out together, steering her towards the door. "Well, in that case, it's been some time since I last enjoyed the taste of some good ale... So what do you say we make our way to this 'flat' of yours, where we can tend to your wounds, acquire some food perhaps, and then you can point me in the right direction to the nearest tavern, huh?"

Elsa eyed him curiously. He was taking this a _lot _better than she thought he would. She was half expecting him to freak out and make a sudden run for it. She was highly grateful that he didn't; she was in no fit state to go chasing after a lost lunatic dwarf.

She showed him the way to a lift, and felt his hand tighten on her shoulder when the automatic doors slid shut without so much as a noise. He let out a curse and lurched into the wall when the lift began to move, and he gazed at Elsa rather accusingly. She murmured an apology but she couldn't keep the wry grin off her face, which he returned eventually.

"So...you really have no idea how you got here, then?" she asked him. When Kili shook his head, she prompted, "Well, do you know where you were before you came here? What was the last thing you remember?"

Kili hesitated as he thought about it. Before the dreams of Elsa had started, he remembered that he and the rest of the Company had taken refuge in a cave after the battle of the Stone Giants. He had gone to sleep but he recalled hearing somebody yell out. He awoke with a start but no sooner than he had done so, the cave floor seemed to give way beneath them all. He and his kin went tumbling down into oblivion. For Kili, everything went black and he knew no more. He had wondered perhaps if he had met his death, falling down that hole. But then if that were really the case, how could he still have been aware of himself?

At the thought of his dear brother, Fili, Thorin and the others, Kili's stomach gave a horrible lurch of unease and grief. He wondered if he was ever going to see them again...

Elsa watched him as a series of emotions played across his face. When he reiterated all of this to her, about falling through the crack in the floor, she frowned a little, thinking it over. She knew that this was the moment in the book and movie before the Company came to be in the Goblin's cave and ultimately where Bilbo would meet the infamous Gollum.

"You fell down a hole? And that's it? " she said, perhaps expecting something a little more spectacular. But Kili did not answer and spotting the slightly aggrieved look in those normally sparkling brown eyes, Elsa fell silent for a moment. "Hey," she said sympathetically, "we'll figure this all out somehow..."

They managed to make the journey down to her studio successfully without meeting anyone along the way. This was a very good thing, for Elsa had no idea how she would explain away Kili's appearance – or hers, for that matter, for she was looking more than a little worse for wear.

Once unlocking her studio, she walked towards the locker inside to collect her change of clothing – a blue t-shirt, some jeans and her boots, which she quickly pulled on behind a cupboard after disentangling herself from the remains of her tattered Gandalf costume. When she returned to the main part of the studio, it was to find Kili gazing with interest at the photos of himself that were hanging above her workbench, the ones she had used for reference whilst creating him. She could not decipher the expression on his face, but he seemed to sense her presence for he spoke to her without turning.

"These pictures...they can't be paintings, surely? It's almost like looking into a mirror..." he said with something like awe in his tone.

"Those are what we call photographs, Kili," Elsa explained, coming to stand at his side. "Another of the many wonders of our modern world."

Kili turned to her, where a grin suddenly spread across his face and his eyes lit up at the sight of her change of attire. Unlike a lot of his kin, he liked and appreciated all types of women, regardless of their race. He found the female form fascinating. Not in the perverted sense but he had a genuine appreciation for the fairer sex. He remembered how he'd tried to brush it off when Dwalin had caught him openly admiring and flirting with that stunning elf maid at Rivendell.

Elsa was definitely no elf; she was not tall or graceful enough, nor – no offence meant – was she beautiful enough. She wasn't a dwarf, that much was obvious. She was tooslender and lacked a beard. Neither was she a hobbit. So by process of elimination, he deduced that she must have been a human. Not that this made any difference to Kili in the least.

Elsa could feel her cheeks burn a little under his scrutiny, as she slipped her leather jacket on, his gaze finally coming to rest upon her bruised face. A moment later, he was directly in front of her, a keen look in those smouldering eyes. Her heart pounded uncontrollably as he leaned in towards her, despite being a few inches shorter than she was, and placed the gentlest of kisses on the bruised cheek. She closed her eyes briefly, and experienced a pleasant tingling sensation at the feeling of his lips against her skin, no matter how fleeting it was.

She opened her eyes just in time to see Kili reach out his hands, making their way to her hair. His skilled fingers quickly made short work of her braided plait, which had been kept back under the wig she'd worn, and it didn't take him long to have her choppy blonde tresses falling down around her shoulders. His clever, nimble fingers then brushed it aside so that it mostly hid her vivid cheek. There was something about Kili that wax and glass alone could never have accomplished: the warmth and kindness in those endless chocolate brown eyes.

Placing her arm in the crook of his elbow, Kili turned back to the door.

"Now then, my dearest Elsa..." he said merrily, "I find myself in need of sustenance, and I'm eager to see this great city of London of yours. Lead the way, if you please..."

"Okay, but things are gonna be quite a bit..._different _to what you're used to," Elsa warned him as they headed for the exit. "You might want to brace yourself."

Kili only gave her a challenging expression as if to say 'Try me!' as they stepped out into the chilly October air. They rounded the corner and the confident smile disappeared rapidly as his senses were suddenly assaulted by an onslaught of noise, light and colour. Elsa smiled sympathetically when she noticed the mixed expression of shock, awe and a bit of horror on his face, as he gaped at the busy, sprawling streets before him. She couldn't blame him in the slightest. London couldn't be any more different to Middle Earth if it tried.

"Welcome to my world, Prince Kili..." she told him, before holding an arm to hail a taxi.

It wasn't long before a shiny black taxi cab slowed to a stop by the curb next to them, and Elsa opened the door, looking back over her shoulder at the gobsmacked dwarf.

"Your chariot awaits you, sire..."

Kili raised one thick-set eyebrow and his mouth twitched in amusement at her comment. However, he stared dubiously at this strange metal black beast with no visible means of support, moving apparently under its own steam as though it may bite. Grasping hold of his hand, Elsa pulled him into the back of the cab and gave the driver her address.

"Nice costume, mate," the taxi driver commented briefly to Kili, to which the dwarf threw him a dirty look.

Elsa pulled out a couple of notes from her purse, handed it to Kili and instructed him to give to the driver upon their arrival. She suddenly felt extremely, extremely tired... She closed her eyes and leaned into Kili, smiling when she found his heart to be racing.


	6. Chapter 6

**Yet Golden Treasure Inside Is Hid **| **Chapter Six**

* * *

Kili gazed out of the taxi window, staring out at the buzzing city streets...the countless buildings, the bright lights, the traffic whizzing along the road. And the people! _Hundreds_ of them, it seemed, swarming the pavements, dressed in all manner of clothing. Elsa really wasn't exaggerating when she said that things were going to be a whole lot different from his own world. He wasn't entirely certain whether he liked what he saw or not. Not for the first time that evening, Kili wondered how in the world he came to be here. And why?

He turned away from the window to look down at the dozing woman beside him, her head rested on his chest. A little smile crept its way onto his face as she stirred slightly, snuggling herself closer into his embrace. Remembering the dream he had had about the two of them in that pool at Rivendell, he took one of her hands in his. Very gently, he began to play with her fingers, marvelling at the soft slender digits compared with his broad, calloused ones.

After a few minutes, the cab turned off from the main road, down a narrower, less busy street and into an estate full of tower blocks. The car slowed down and eventually came to a stop as it arrived at Elsa's address. Kili stepped out into the frosty air and stared curiously around at the enormous flats.

How vastly different these tall, grey constructions were in comparison to the dwellings he had seen in Middle Earth. He remembered the countless stories he'd heard from his uncle about the grandeur and magnificence of Erebor and how these dull and rather ugly-looking buildings must have paled into utter insignificance in comparison. A short distance away, he could see more buildings of similar construction, with a few spindly trees dotted here and there. He could also hear a faint rushing sound of traffic coming from the road just out of sight and shook his head in bewilderment once again to find himself in such a bizarre place.

The brief thought of Thorin made Kili's musings immediately turn to his dear brother, Fili, and he felt a sudden pang of homesickness. How long was he to remain here in this strange land? Was he ever going to get back? He _had _to! He was part of the Company and he needed to be there when that door opened into the halls of Erebor.

"Oi, mate, the meter's running, y'know," the taxi driver called to him, jolting Kili out of his thoughts.

The dwarf had no clue as to what the man meant by that but he could see that the driver was looking over at him expectantly. He looked down at the paper notes in his hand that Elsa had given to him earlier and remembered her telling him to give them to the driver upon their arrival. He handed the money over a little uncertainly.

Deciding to push his dismal thoughts of his home to the back of his mind, Kili turned back to the dozing woman in the back seat.

Elsa had not realised that she must have nodded off for a few minutes, for the next thing she was aware of was Kili helping her out from the taxi. Still half asleep, she stumbled a little. It was yet another testament to a dwarf's strength, for Kili, despite being a few inches shorter than she was, managed to effortlessly sweep her into his arms, bridal-style, as if she weighed little at all.

"Where next, my dear?" he asked brightly, his breath warm against her ear.

"Next, you put me down," Elsa grumbled, rooting around in her bag for her keys. "I _can _walk, you know."

Kili stopped in his tracks, and at hearing his sigh, Elsa glanced up to see he was giving her a kicked puppy expression.

"Aw, spoilsport," he said in disappointment, "How is that any way to speak to a prince? Here I am willing to carry your poor wounded self to your home, a position most women would kill to be in right now...and you want me to put you down?"

Elsa couldn't help but laugh softly, wincing at the sharp pain that had just sliced through her skull.

_Women would kill to be in my position, eh? Well, that's probably true, but methinks somebody's ego needs to be taken down a peg or two, _she thought, a plan beginning to take shape in her mind.

Sighing, she draped her arms around Kili's neck and leaned her aching head against his shoulder.

"Very well, Your Highness, since you put it that way, how can a girl refuse?" she said. "But just so you know, I live on the _eighth _floor."

Kili muttered a curse in Khuzdul under his breath. Although Elsa did not understand what it was he'd said, she caught the gist of it, and let out a little laugh again. The sound made Kili grin, however, although it was missed by the woman in his arms, for her eyes had drifted closed. She did not speak again as he climbed the stairs of the flat, though he knew that she was still awake as her fingers played with the long, soft hair at the back of his neck.

By the time they reached the right floor, Kili was almost out of breath and was thankful for the fact that Elsa was small. He lowered her to her feet but kept his hand rested on her back for support as she opened the door.

As Elsa flicked a switch on the wall, Kili flinched slightly and blinked several times at the sudden, almost unbearably bright light. Once his eyes had become accustomed, he looked around to find himself in a small, cluttered living room. It was a fairly peculiar room, occupied with pieces of furniture that were both familiar to him, and others not quite so. A cream-coloured sofa took up most of the floor space with a smaller pine table sitting just in front of it. On the opposite wall stood a curious black rectangular object on yet another low pine table with various other apparatus he had never seen before.

The source of the bright light appeared to be coming directly from the ceiling and when Kili looked up he noticed a fixture hanging there with three lanterns which had strange round globes in them, and four wooden blades close to its base. Along the walls, which were also cream in colour, there were shelves and cabinets filled with books, ornaments and many, many other odd items. On his immediate right, stood a stove made of cast iron, something he thankfully recognised. Next to this, he saw what could only be best described as a piano that had been cut short and pushed against a wall.

Several paintings hung on the walls, too; mostly landscapes and a portrait of a young girl with a dog. However, the biggest picture appeared to be just a canvas with no frame, depicting an elegant-looking woman with dark hair and a long black dress with the words _Breakfast at Tiffany's _written underneath.

The whole room had a pleasant, airy feel to it. He could also smell a trace of some agreeable fragrance in the room, and when he looked for its source, Kili found it to be coming from an attractive bouquet of lilies sitting in a vase on a nearby sideboard.

"Very nice place you got here," he commented. "Did you do it yourself?"

Elsa smiled at the familiar words that he used with Bilbo Baggins at the beginning of the _Hobbit _film when he and Fili had arrived at Bag End, and answered, "I decorated it myself if that's what you mean."

"Relative of yours?" he asked, nodding at the picture on the wall.

Elsa looked round to see what he was referring to and let out a snorting laugh. "Pfft, I wish! That's the _fabulous_ Audrey Hepburn. Wasn't she beautiful? _Breakfast at Tiffany's _is my favourite movie in the world. It never fails to make me feel better..."

Kili frowned in puzzlement at her words. "What's a movie?" he asked curiously.

Elsa let out a sigh. "My twenty-first century world is going to take an awful lot of explaining – "

She was interrupted by the sudden loud barks of her little dog, Freddie, who came scurrying into the room, stopping right in front of Kili, who eyed the little tan-coloured canine warily as he continued to yip and growl at him. Elsa stepped forward to his rescue to introduce him.

"Oh - this little furbag is Freddie. Why don't you two get acquainted while I go and find us something to eat? Be nice, now..."

Kili grinned at her retreating back and replied, "No worries, lass. I'm sure we'll be the best of friends...won't we, boy?" he added to Freddie, bending down to pet the Dachshund's head and almost losing two fingers in the process.

"I actually wasn't talking to the dog, Kili..." called Elsa from the distance. Kili only rolled his eyes at this.

Freddie soon lost interest in him much to the dwarf's relief, following his mistress into the kitchen and headed straight for his feeding bowl. Kili also walked into the cramped, miniscule kitchen, staring curiously around. Confusion set in once more as his eyes took in the gleaming, speckled countertops and various shiny box-shaped appliances in here. He gazed over to see Elsa bent over slightly, peering inside a large white cabinet whose insides seemed to light up and was producing a slight chill in the air. A little smile crept onto his face as he observed her, leaning his elbows back against the opposite counter.

"I don't suppose you know if you're allergic to any food in particular, do you?" Elsa asked him without turning around, apparently sensing his presence.

She glanced back at him and her cheeks flushed when she caught sight of Kili's piercing gaze upon her, finding her heart somewhere in the vicinity of her stomach.

"And _stop _looking at me like that, I'm _not _on the menu," she quipped.

"Shame, that," he answered. "Otherwise I don't think I'd be able to restrain myself from devouring every...last...bit of you..." he said, emphasizing each word with a flirtatious edge to it.

While she was flattered by the attention, Elsa couldn't help but feel a little annoyed at the same time. Did he really expect that a few well-chosen words and a bit of flirting was going end up with her falling into his arms without protest? Well, Kili was about to get a lesson in Women's Lib, twenty-first century-style...

Reaching into the storage drawer at the bottom of the fridge, she pulled out a handful of the first food item she came to. Holding the loose grapes casually in one hand behind her back as she nonchalantly straightened up again, she mustered up her most seductive tone of voice as she purred, "Are you hungry, Kili?"

Kili knew that this comment alone should have put him on his guard, but seeing as he was completely out of his element, it didn't. Therefore, he was caught unawares as not for the first time in his short time of knowing her, Elsa took him by surprise; she hurled the green fruit straight into his startled face and made a run for the living room.

It didn't take him long to catch her up, as he made a grab for her arm, just like he did in Elsa's dream when he had pulled her into the water, only this time she was prepared. Catching him by the wrist, she managed to execute the most popular move she'd seen on a self defence video on Youtube. Kili lay on the living room floor, looking stunned and at the same time amused, as Elsa stood over him, smiling triumphantly. That lasted for about a second until she realised that she still had hold of his arm. He used her mistake to his advantage; he pulled, and Elsa half lurched, half fell sideways, with her upper body coming to rest with her back against his stomach, his other arm breaking her fall. He wrapped his arm around her waist, preventing her from rising as he turned her so that she was facing him.

Kili grasped her wrists in one hand as he brushed her flying hair out of her face, an amused look on his face. "That was an interesting move, my dear Elsa, but if it was a tumble you wanted from me, all you had to do was ask…"

Elsa gasped as his knowing chocolate brown eyes met her startled blue ones. Her mind was a whirling blur as it dawned on her that not only was Kili with her right now, an honest to goodness living, breathing dwarf, but apparently he had really been with her in her dreams as well.

At that moment she did what any other real woman would have done in the exact same situation that she was facing...She sent a huge thank you to whatever Supreme Being out there that had sent this man into her life...and then she promptly fainted.

* * *

Elsa shifted a little as the hazy morning ray of wintry sunlight filtering through the gap in the curtains played across her face, pulling her into consciousness. She furrowed her brows as the bright light assaulted her closed eyelids with a sudden red glow and she made to roll over to try and escape the offending light. The first sound of the day which roused her from her slumber was Freddie's low, rumbling whines and the rhythmic thumping of his wagging tail on the bed beside her. It was a noise the spoilt little pooch made whenever he wanted to be fed.

"Okay, Freddie..." Elsa mumbled, her eyes still firmly shut, "I'll get you your breakfast, don't keep on..."

When she eventually managed to open her eyes, Elsa recognised the familiar confines of her bedroom, yet she had no recollection of how she got there. Alarmed, she sat up quickly and seriously wished she hadn't, and winced as the last remains of a headache made her head swim.

"What the - ?"

A cool, damp flannel which had been resting on her aching head suddenly fell into her lap. Elsa picked it up and frowned at it suspiciously.

_I don't remember going to bed... _she thought, looking down at her still fully-dressed self. _Why am I sleeping in my clothes? _Her brain didn't seem to want to cooperate... But then she remembered... _Oh yeah, the Gala Opening...the creepy Julius Caesar with the grabby hands...whiskey...the crazy dreams with Kili... _

"It's a miracle that I actually made it home last night," she muttered, reaching over to give her pet a loving scratch behind the ears. "Freddie, remind me never to drink _ever _again..."

She closed her eyes and leant back against the headboard, when an amused voice spoke up, "Good morning... So you've joined the land of the living at last..."

Elsa's eyes snapped open to see that the voice had come from the direction of her bedroom doorway. Kili was leaning against the door frame, with his arms folded. He had shed his outer coat and quiver of arrows and was currently munching upon an apple. The dwarf prince raised an eyebrow as Elsa's mouth flew open, staring at him as though she had just seen a ghost.

"What's the matter, dearest Elsa?" he asked amusedly, "You act as though you've never seen a dwarf before... You're not going to faint on me again, are you?" Smiling at her stunned and bemused expression, he added, "Relax and breathe, lass... I won't bite, I promise..."

That brought out the desired response from Elsa, who restarted her lungs with a deep shuddering breath followed by a shaky laugh.

_"_I see you found your way around the kitchen…I've been eating on the go lately and haven't done much shopping. You didn't find anything else edible in there by any chance?" she added hopefully as she watched Kili take another large bite out of his apple and appeared to be savouring it.

"Aye, I did," nodded Kili, finishing eating and dropping it in the nearby waste bin, "but unfortunately it started throwing grapes at me before I could get the chance to sample it."

Elsa rolled her eyes at his words, shaking her head. However, her whimsical mood soon took a darker turn as she remembered more about what had happened the previous night at the Gala Opening. Kili watched her carefully as a shadow seemed to pass over her features. Her memory suddenly felt as though it was on fast-forward.

"Kili...at the museum..." she said slowly, "I thought it was a dream, but it wasn't, was it?" It came out more like a statement than a question, and Kili met her gaze with a serious one of his own. "Oh, God...if you hadn't been there to stop Bradley...he really would've..." she trailed off with a stifled sort of gasp, one hand covering her mouth as the events of last night suddenly sunk in for her, letting her mind wander to that terrible place.

"But it didn't happen, Elsa, and he'll not trouble you again, even if I have to run him through," he murmured.

She looked up to find him still watching her carefully, his expression one of deadly calm. Elsa shivered suddenly and drew her knees up, wrapping her arms around them and turning her uninjured cheek to rest upon them away from the room. She stared unseeingly at the sun-drenched window as the tears she had been trying to hold back began to fall silently, the only sound in the room the slow ticking of her bedside clock.

She sensed rather than saw Kili move from his spot at the doorway, and then he was beside her at the head of the bed, placing the pillow up behind his back as he sat against the headboard with a sigh. When he reached for her she flinched away, ashamed to have him see her crying. Sensing her strain, he instead began to run one broad-fingered hand through her hair, combing gently through the tangled blonde tresses…and he waited. His patience and light touch had the desired effect. The wounded dove he wanted to care for came freely into his welcoming arms as the dam around her pent up emotions finally burst.

* * *

A little while later, Elsa gave a long shuddering sigh against Kili's now slightly damp shirt, and moved her head slightly so that the fastenings weren't cutting into her face. She felt drained, but it was a good feeling, and she smiled slightly as she listened to his heart beat, slow and steady beneath his linen shirt. His head, which had come to rest atop her own as he cuddled her against his side, raised up, and she could feel his gaze on her. Lifting her head, she reached across him to get to the tissue box on the nightstand, and his right arm, which had been resting on the bed, swept up to wrap around her as well. Startled, she looked down to find herself face to face with a highly amused dwarf, who was eyeing her carefully.

"Think you're done with the waterworks now then?" he asked kindly, his brown eyes warm.

At her warm smile and nod, his smiling eyes expressed his approval as he tightened his hold on her. "Glad to hear it…that brainless troll isn't worth your tears, lass. Do you want to talk about it?"

When she shook her head and uttered a soft no, he looked at her appraisingly through his half closed eyes. Elsa sighed again and wiped at her eyes with the tissue.

"I'm sorry, Kili... Your first day here in a new world and I cry all over you," she sniffed.

"Don't mention it," he answered quietly.

As Elsa straightened up with a warm grin, it quickly disappeared when a strange whine came from her stomach. She hadn't really eaten much since yesterday morning and her hunger was starting to catch up. She saw Kili's lips curled slightly into a faint smile. She knew how big an appetite dwarves had, so she said,

"Uh… why don't we eat something? I'm sure crossing dimensional barriers can leave anyone famished." She pointed with her thumb over her shoulder towards the kitchen.

* * *

_**Back at the museum…**_

_D__amn that bitch…_

Bradley Mason cursed at the severe headache that still throbbed painfully at the back of his head. He had spent the morning dealing with the police after the night security guard had heard his shouts. How he had wound up on the floor, knocked out cold with an egg-sized bump on the head, he still had no idea, as police had found no hard evidence and no motive for the assault. He had used the pretext of hearing a noise and being assaulted while checking it out for his presence in the display, and as he was the assistant curator of the museum, no one had dared question his authority or explanation.

He sat back on his desk and ran through the events of the previous evening. The party had been breaking up, and he had been certain that nobody had seen him enter the display. He had been enjoying having a semi-conscious Elsa beneath him at his mercy when an unknown assailant had knocked him senseless. Some friend of Elsa's perhaps, although the voice had been hauntingly familiar.

He sat bolt upright in his chair suddenly, his face turning pale. "I must be mistaken…or is it just my imagination?"

He leaped from the chair despite his aching head and walked to the display, gaping when his saw the figures in place...all of them...all except one.

"I'll be buggered….she stole the Kili figure!"

_Her arse is really mine now…I'll have her arrested for this! _he thought, grinning with sadistic glee, and then his smile became calculating…_unless…_

Bradley strolled back to his office, where he sat in deep thought for quite a while. Coming to a decision he flipped through his private rolodex before picking up the phone and dialling a number.

Leaning back in his chair he waited for a response, and when the man answered, he went right to the point.

"Max, it's Bradley…I know, long time...Listen," he continued, a small, cold smile crossed his face, "I was wondering if you could do me a favour …"

* * *

_Thank you to those who have reviewed! I really do appreciate it :) next chappie, Elsa will be explaining to Kili about the wonders of the modern world. Poor baby. _


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